Conventionally, game systems and other multi-user systems have had system level actions (e.g., application launching) associated with a current owner of a launch surface. A launch surface may be, for example, a start menu, a desktop, or other interface from which applications can be launched or other system level actions can be taken. Conventionally, one user has been identified as controlling the console or owning the launch surface. This control was manifested at the system level by having application launches associated with the user who controlled the launch surface. For example, when an application was launched, the application's behavior, appearance, billing, or other impacts may have been a function of the owner of the launch surface.
Computer systems, including game systems, may allow multiple users to access, sign in, or otherwise interact with the system at the same time. For example, a single game console may support multiple local players and multiple remote players. Additionally, the game console may allow different players to have different games or applications active at different times and even to come and go from a game or application. A traditional, fixed, one-to-one relationship between the owner of the launch surface and that owner's context being associated with applications launched from the console may have limited the game experience. This limiting experience may extend to other non-gaming systems. For example, other multi-user systems may have had similar launch-surface owner based context association control.
Different users may have different contexts. A user context may describe, for example, user attributes and user state. User attributes may include, for example, name, language preferences, or other data. User state may include, for example, location, billing balances, game experience level, saved games, or other data. When there are multiple users signed into a system there are multiple contexts available to the system. Conventionally, when a user launched an application, the context associated with the launch surface was automatically associated with the application and thus controlled, at least in part, the operation of the application. For example, a first user context may have caused an application to produce an English language presentation for a male who is an intermediate level swordsman and who has a limited data plan while a second user context may have caused an application to produce a French language presentation for a female who is an expert archer and who has an unlimited data plan. The context may have controlled in-game attributes (e.g., point of view, character) but may also have controlled attributes of other applications launched from the launch surface. Conventionally, the one-to-one fixed relationship between a user context and the launch surface ownership may have made it difficult, if even possible at all, to change launch surface ownership or to change application contexts.